One of the nice things about going away for a while is coming back to find stuff done for you. Things like laundry, guest Q&A’s, and script outlines. Well, guest Q&A’s anyway. And so, today, I turn this blog over to the lovely and talented Martin Gero who has kindly taken the time to answer your questions about last week’s episode, Brain Storm, which he wrote, directed, and produced. Now, if he only did laundry…

Hey everyone! As always, thank you for your kind comments, questions and occasional condemnation. I relish the chance to answer a few questions on this, the most popular Sci-Fi/Food blog on the internet. Let’s begin:

... IMForeman writes: “1.) Did you have Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson lined up before you wrote the episode, or were their other characters in their place that were removed when it was discovered you could get them?

2.) Did either take exception to your portrayal of them

3.) Freeze Lightning? Really? I mean, I suppose you could have come up with “pinpoint hypothermic blasts” or “focused cryogenic bolts”… but Freeze Lightning? It sounds like it should be from a musical.

4.) What commentaries are you doing this year?”

1) Yeah, I’ve wanted to get Neil on the show for some time now, and Bill is one of Bob Picardo’s closest friends and had mentioned he’d be open to coming on the show. I was and am a HUGE fan of both…

2) Not at all. They were both big fans of the script. Dr. Tyson has some dialogue suggestions to make things closer to his natural cadence and Bill suggested a few extra lines here and there, but for the most part they performed the script as written.

3) I’m gonna turn this answer over to Bill Nye. Bill what are your thoughts of Freeze Lightning?

BILL NYE: “I thought that was just cool. If you could somehow concentrate heat and then exclude it. It was just a cool idea. If you could control heat the way you control a beam of light. We can in a limited extent in infrared, but this took it to another level.”

As for the name…I make fun of it in the episode. I know it’s not the “coolest” names, but it worked, I thought.

4) Search and Rescue, First Contact, Lost Tribe, Brain Storm.

... DemonHunter writes: “If Atlantis went on to season 6 would McKay have been a daddy next year???”

Yes…and Sheppard would have been the mommy. It would have been an awesome arch.

... IN CONCLUSION:

Sorry I didn’t get to answer all of the questions! Feel free to ask me if you ever see me waiting for a bus or something.

And, finally: thank you. These five years have been an amazing experience for me. You are the best fans a show could ask for and I have enjoyed the back and forth over the course of the series (the good and the bad). It’s been a great ride and I look forward to getting to show you the stuff we’re working on for Universe…for those of you who are interested in that sort of thing.

All the best,

M.

And the mailbag is back…

... Megan writes: “Quick question for you concerning SGA: According to MGM, the decision to cancel the series was not in their hands; they would have approved a sixth season. SciFi wanted a sixth season as well. You’ve stated you wanted to continue with Atlantis as did the actors. So, who made the final call to cancel SGA when all parties wanted to go on?”

Answer: Great, great question.

... ElisaD writes: “How is the script going for the SGA movie?”

Answer: We’re still at the outline stage. I did my pass and I’m waiting for Paul [Mullie] to do his.

... Trevor writes: “Does this mean like SG-1 only two movies or are they really going to make more movies on both SG-1 and SGA ?”

Answer: At present, we are scheduled to produce two movies next year, one of each.

"A very interesting episode for you Wraith fans out there as Todd crosses paths with our heroes for the first time since the events of our mid-season two-parter (and one particular event comes immediately to mind -- Todd setting the Daedalus on a collision course). Some interesting scenes in which we learn where the different members of our crew line up with regard to the Wraith."

The former NEXT GENERATION actor helms his second LIBRARIAN film which debuts this Sunday (December 7) on TNT

By CARL CORTEZ, Contributing EditorPublished 12/3/2008

For a librarian, Flynn Carsen (Noah Wyle) certainly gets around. Travelling around the globe throughout his two previous adventures in THE LIBRARIAN movies for TNT, the plucky bookworm with a mission to preserve history’s most famed artifacts has transformed from reluctant hero to more confident, reluctant hero.

For his third adventure, THE LIBRARIAN: CURSE OF THE JUDAS CHALICE (which debuts this Sunday, December 7, on TNT), Carsen travels to New Orleans where he battles Russians who are trying to resurrect Dracula in their attempt to create an ultimate army. The film is executive produced by Dean Devlin, whose new TV series LEVERAGE starring Timothy Hutton also debuts December 7.

Behind the camera for his second LIBRARIAN tour of duty is former STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION actor Jonathan Frakes who spoke with iF about the latest adventure shortly after the cast and crew screening on the big screen at the Arclight in Hollywood, CA.

A brief excerpt:

iF: The other thing I’m impressed with all of the LIBRARIAN films, but this one even moreso, is how in terms of your direction particularly the little tiny comedic bits and the funny looks the characters give each other. It really brings the movie to life. How much time did you work at bringing that type of stuff – since it’s obviously not scripted.

FRAKES: It’s in the direction and also in the takes. If you remember something like that, as I generally do. When I’m in the editing room, I’ll say, “they did something really funny here, let’s look for that beat or look.” All the things you just referred to are my favorite parts too. Those are the things that make you smile on the inside when you see it. It comes from Bob [Newhart] and Noah, having worked together before, and with Stana [Katic who plays the new love interest and a vampire to boot] and Noah. It’s a credit to her being able to step up and understand tonally what the LIBRARIAN franchise is about. And then my responsibility is to try to capture those and pull them out of the dailies and put them in the movie. I think everyone enjoys those bits.

FRAKES: The idea of coming back together is the most attractive. Obviously my character has been promoted and has his own ship and is married, so we’ve toyed with the idea of a sitcom and an opera. There are a lot of spaghettis that have been thrown up on the wall.

iF: A half hour?

FRAKES: THE RIKERS IN SPACE and their wacky uncle Data and their little dog Worf. [laughs]

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat… And if you’re looking for the perfect stocking filler for your favourite Stargate fan, then look no further -- STARGATE SG-1: Hydra is available from our website now!

Holly Scott and Jaimie Duncan are back with another fantastic STARGATE SG-1 novel, a story that pits our favourite heroes against an enemy who knows them inside out. Literally.

With a deep thread of psychological drama, STARGATE SG-1 Hydra explores the shadows within O’Neill, Jackson, Carter, and Teal'c while weaving a complex and compelling tale of action and adventure.

From the back cover of Hydra:

The faces of evil

Rumours and accusations are reaching Stargate Command, and nothing is making sense. When SG-1 is met with fear and loathing on a peaceful world, and Master Bra’tac lays allegations of war crimes at their feet, they know they must investigate.

But the investigation leads the team into a deadly assault and it’s only when a second Daniel Jackson stumbles through the Stargate, begging for help, that the truth begins to emerge. Because this Daniel Jackson is the product of a rogue NID operation that spans the reaches of the galaxy, and the tale he has to tell is truly shocking.

Facing a cunning and ruthless enemy, SG-1 must confront and triumph over their own capacity for cruelty and violence in order to save the SGC – and themselves ...

The book is available now from our website and soon from leading book stores in North America, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. To order your copy, visit http://www.stargatenovels.com.

1. Do not write a one-liner.2. Make sure you have your spellchecker on when you write your message and make it as neat-looking as possible.3. Make sure your message is written *directly* to Amanda, do not refer to her in the 3rd person.4. Swear-words or any rude words in your message will disqualify you instantly as will any signs of disrespect towards Amanda.5. Please do not ask any questions - Amanda will not answer them - this is a greetings session not a question and answer or interview.6. You may attach images you would like to see with your message, but I cannot guarantee they will be used in the final pages for Amanda as it will entirely depend on the layout and design of the final Christmas pages. Text will be used 100%.7. As a webmaster of the website, I reserve the right to exclude anything I deem inappropriate or unfitting.

Normally, of course, 99% of messages do get approved, so -- I look forward to receiving your messages! I am sure Amanda will love them.

The deadline for sending those will be the 19th of December, 2008, 6pm CET (Central Europe Time). Anything sent after that shall probably be excluded. Make sure you send it before.

Amanda will be informed of the greetings and where they are by the 22nd of December and everything will be made public on this website by the 5th of January, 2009.

THE SCI FI GUYS CHRISTMAS SPECIAL WITH RONNY COX THIS THURSDAY ON WWW.DTRN.CO.UK

Following the tradition of most shows, The Sci Fi Guys return this Thursday in association with http://www.wolfevents.com with their annual Christmas special featuring actor and musician Ronny Cox (Stargate SG1, Robocop, Total Recall and much more)

Known for his roles in films such Beverly Hill Cop (Lt. Andrew Bogomil), Robocop (Dick Jones) and on the small screen as characters in Stargate SG1, Star Trek TNG, Time Trax, The Outer Limits and many more, Ronny has had career that spans over three decades. However Ronny is not only a superbly talented actor but he is also a gifted musician and in this interview he talks candidly about his music and its place in his career, listeners will also be able to hear two tracks from his live album, Ronny Cox At The Sebastian Theatre (Now available from http://www.ronnycox.com).

Listeners will also get the chance to win a fantastic Christmas present for themselves as in association with the kind people at Titan Books, The Guys will be giving listeners the chance to win a copy of The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion. Written by Mark Cotta Vaz and featuring an exclusive introduction by Frank Miller himself, The Spirit: The Movie Visual Companion contains interviews with the cast and crew, colour gallery photos and behind-the-scenes shots, production art, and the full screenplay. Also featuring Frank Miller sketches and storyboards, this stunning hardback volume will please comics fans and movie fans alike, and is available one month before the film hits cinema screens. All listeners have to do win this fantastic prize is get in to the Christmas SPIRIT and email us what present/s they would give their favourite Cult TV/Sci Fi star or character. Entries must be emailed to competitions [at] dtrn.co.uk by 8pm BST on 11th December and the winners will be announced as part of the nights festivities.

As well as this the Guys will be making a special announcement that fans of the show will not want to miss!

The festive fun starts at 8pm BST on Thursday 11th December on http://www.dtrn.co.uk and will also feature the usual mixture of Sci Fi Guys news, reviews and discussion on a wide range of topics inc The Sci FI Guys ideas of on what to get the Geek this Christmas.EDIT: December 13 '08 at 8:18pm - Download link

NEXT new episode: Warriors airs Friday December 12 at 10pm on the SciFi Channel (US). Will finds himself caught in an underground fight club where the combatants fight to the death like modern day gladiators.

We would be hard-pressed to say that Martin Gero hasn't been good to us. In the four years since GateWorld has known him he as granted us an extensive interview every year. Now with Season Five coming to a close we are happy to be back with him to go even deeper into the franchise and beyond.

In our latest piece Martin talks about the success of his film "YPF," working with the likes of Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson in the recent episode "Brain Storm," and he even addresses some of the viewer criticisms of his episode. We also explore the McKay/Keller relationship and dip our toes in the waters of Stargate Universe.

GateWorld's interview with Martin runs over 43 minutes. Listen online at your leisure, download it to your MP3 player, or subscribe now to the iTunes podcast. The full interview is also transcribed [at thelink above]!